Valkyrie of Mine
by Palmsandsunshine
Summary: Dragon racing is now the most popular sport in the entire archipelago! The championship is being held in Berk, since all the the top riders are from the isle. But, when an accident renders Hiccup truly useless, what will become of his tribe, and the relationships in it? Second story I have ever written! Takes place after HTTYD 2.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! I going to be posting short stories now! Don't worry, these will not replace Home-Bound, but I like to do something different once in a while.**

 **Enjoy the first one on my page:**

 **VALKYRIE OF MINE!**

Chapter One: Hate to be Hit

"Hate me!" Hiccup's voice rang through the the hut.

"What... No!"

"Hate me! You have been too nice to me these past races," he said staring at the blonde girl in front of him.

Astrid huffed and threw her braid over her shoulder. She stared into his eyes, in glaring at him, but to no avail. Those emerald green eyes bore into her soul. But how in the world could she hate him? She did not want to be angry at him, but decided to give in.

Giving him a smug look, she punched him in the gut - hard - and winced when Hiccup hunched over in pain and fell to the ground.

"I said hate me, not hit me," a raspy voice said, in a voice barely audible

"Well, I'm sorry they sound the same!"

A black dragon came up and gave a big laugh at his rider's misery. His newly fit saddle shone in the light from the window.

"Stupid Dragon." Hiccup muttered.

Stormfly looked in through the window, listening to the groans of pain with content, knowing Astrid was the one who punched him.

Hiccup finally stood up, still in pain and tripped over Toothless' tail when he purposefully swept it under his feet. Astrid and the two dragons laughed as the girl helped him up. How could one be so unfortunate in the span of two minutes!

"Is this my punishment for giving you an eel yesterday, Toothless?"

The dragon gave a disgusted look at the prank his rider pulled the night before.

Hiccup hid two eels under a mountain of fish, and Toothless almost swallowed one.

"Aargh," Hiccup groaned, rubbing his stomach. "Does your fist even hurt after punching my rib cage?"

Smiling at the boy's remark, Astrid suddenly realized just how hard she punched him. Was she getting this strong?

"Kinda, your muscles are growing along with your height," she said, grasping her fist which lightly throbbed from the punch. She shook it off as they both heard the horn, calling the dragon riders to the race.

Tiptoeing up to his face, Astrid gave him a light kiss on the cheek and sped off on Stormfly, calling out to him. "Good luck and sorry about the punch!"

Hiccup sighed and shook his head as he climbed on the Night Fury. Astrid would be very competitive today, and she had every reason to. Today was the semi finals of dragon racing, and only six riders were in it.

/

"I'll be sure to throw a sheep at that target of yours," Snotlout taunted.

"Family crest!"

"Snotlout, stop picking on Fishlegs." Hiccup said, painting two lines on both of his cheeks.

"Ok, Mr. Equal Sign."

"Hey!"

"At least he isn't named after mucus" Astrid said, coming to the rescue.

This, of course, caused the twins to start rolling on the floor in laughter.

"You just got owned!" They said in unison, still having trouble breathing.

"Well... At least i'm not crazy!" Snotlout huffed. So much for a great comeback.

Astrid smiled. "If I am crazy then you are mentally unstable."

/

The horn blasted, and Valka stood up on a hovering Cloudjumper. "Welcome to the Annual Dragon Racing Championship!" She said to the crowd, which roared loudly in response. "Today we have the original riders of Berk vying for the ultimate crown!" She pointed to Gobbler who held up a metal crown from his place at the large horn. The crown was hand-crafted by Hiccup himself. "Only three will be chosen for the next and final round tomorrow! I will be the referee for today. Riders! Ready, set..."

Her last word was unheard because of the loud horn, the crowd, and the dragons who flew so fast, they created their own wind.

/

Astrid and Hiccup were neck-to-neck, Astrid at her full speed, and Hiccup barely even halfway to his. The two led the group around and charismatically waved at the crowd. Spotting a sheep, Toothless banked away, with his rider controlling the tail fin to follow him. Turning upside down, Hiccup grabbed the sheep and veered away to throw it into his basket. "One point for Hiccup and Toothless!" Valka commentated.

The crowd roared in approval of their chief's score.

At the same time, Astrid spotted another, and being the second fastest, she sped ahead of Fishlegs and the twins and taunted Snotlout before diving down to get the creature. Stormfly held it tightly in her talons before dropping it in Astrid's net. "One point for Astrid and Stormfly!"

The game sped by, with Hiccup in first with 4 points, Astrid with 3, the twins with two, and one by Snotlout.

"Do you see where the launcher is?" Astrid called out to Hiccup.

"No, not yet! I think they'll reveal the sheep soon, though!"

Moments later, the horn sounded and everyone glanced around to find the wooly animal. A small dark figure rose in the distance, and everyone darted to reach it. Before any of them were halfway there, another figure appeared, and snatched the black wool out of the air.

"Stupid fast night fury." Astrid muttered as the pair threw the sheep into the net before any of them even got to the location of the launcher.

/

"So, whaddya think?" Astrid said. She stared off into the distance where only a few small islands were found.

"About what?" Hiccup asked, focused on tweaking the flight suit he was wearing.

Astrid sighed. He could be so out of it at times like these. Instead of reprimanding him, she simply took his hands and led him toward the stables, where Stormfly and Toothless were playing.

"Can we go flying together? I need to talk to you."

/

"So that's what you're worried about?" Hiccup asked, incredulously. "I know dragon racing is dangerous, but canceling it when so many people love it would be-"

"I know a lot of people love it, but after what almost happened last game, I just don't really want to see that happen if a dragon wasn't able to save me." She interrupted, remembering the near fatal incident.

Start Flashback...

As she rounded a corner, Astrid was not expecting a hovering Hookfang to be there. Stormfly was not very agile, and could not stop in time, sending a very surprised Astrid over the head of Snotlout, who was just as staggered as the blonde girl.

When she barely registered what was happening - and why she was falling - Toothless caught her in his talons and plopped her onto Stormfly.

End Flashback...

"Exactly, someone was there to save you. If you want, we will have people on their dragons ready to catch someone if they fall."

"No." Astrid said. She really didn't want to ruin the fun for those in the crowd that had to catch every person that fell.

"Ok. Just remember, you can tell me anything." Hiccup said coming closer to her. He gave her a short kiss on the lips.

"I love you," he said, glancing at the gold ring on her finger

He turned around and walked over to Toothless.

Stormfly came up to her rider, sensing the distress and squawked. She felt guilty for letting her rider fall.

"I know, girl. It wasn't your fault," Astrid said before climbing onto the blue dragon's saddle.

Taking a deep breath of the salty air, she sped off towards home.


	2. Chapter 2

Hiccup woke up the next morning, with everything feeling right in the world. There was also a sense of excitement, as it was the championship of dragon racing. A black dragon bounded up the stairs, hearing his best friend wake up. Giving a gummy smile, he picked up the metal prosthetic in his mouth and placed it in Hiccup's lap.

"Thanks Toothless," Hiccup said, still drowsy from sleep.

After lazily putting on his flight suit, he went to welcome the visitors with breakfast at the Great Hall.

Dragon racing had become a really popular sport in the archipelago. Chieftains from all over came to watch the spectacle of dragon riding, found only on Berk.

:-:-|-:-:-(-)-:-:-|-:-:

Sitting at the head of the table with Hiccup was Valka, and his Fiancé. As with tradition, a great feast was held to honor the Chiefs that were there.

The celebration ended when the horn called all the riders to the starting line, the Chiefs going to their seats in the crowd. Many areas had been blocked off and instead held magnificent stone thrones for the leaders. Once again, Valka counted down for the four riders (since the twins could not be separated) and stepped aside to avoid being blown off of the platform.

:-:-|-:-:-(-)-:-:-|-:-:

No taunting comments were exchanged during that round, not even from the dragons. All were focused on winning.

Ruff and Tuff tried to keep up to the Chief and Future Chieftainess, but simply could not. The two fastest dragons on Berk were ridden by the two most competitive. Hiccup was fast, sneaky, and agile. Astrid was straight to the point, but also tricked you once in awhile. The couple points that she managed to sneak from Hiccup were mostly by duking him; disappearing and then reappearing only to swoop in and grab the sheep right in front of the duo's eyes. Sometimes, they would even manage to strike and steal someone else's sheep, leaving a confused expression on their victim's faces.

The game continued like this, until the points were Hiccup with 6 points, and Astrid with 4. The twins have yet to score, but still maintained a fighting spirit. After ten sheep were captured, the horn sounded to alert the riders. The black sheep.

 _Come on, Stormfly,_ Astrid thought. _We can still win this._

Much to the riders' surprise, the launcher was now stationed right in front of the crowd. A mere flick of a tail could send the sheep catapulting into a basket. The sheep was in Hiccup's line of sight. He could get it. He could reach out and get it and win the game. Just then, a blur of blue sped past startling even Toothless who spread his wings in an effort to prevent crashing into the Nadder.

Toothless rose quickly, not knowing that the plank that held the baskets was right above his friend's head. Hiccup didn't know it either, until he was knocked unconscious. A good fourty feet off the ground, Toothless could not control himself without his precious rider, and began spiraling toward the ground. The tether that held the companions together suddenly snapped, leaving Hiccup to free fall.

Toothless wasn't worried. His friend had a flight suit, and could just open it up. But why wasn't he? Then Hiccup hit the ground with a sickening thud.

:-:-|-:-:-(-)-:-:-|-:-:

Astrid had won! For the first time in three years, she had won! She searched the sky for her fiancé, only to see Ruffnut and Tuffnut zooming through the sky. She slowed when she came toward the crowd, and stood up on Stormfly, waving to the Chiefs, who were not paying attention to her, but looking down.

 _Where is Hiccup_? She thought.

That was when she heard it. A roar. Not of joy, surprise, or even a territorial roar. One of complete despair and pain. One that sent shivers up her spine. And it was from a Night Fury.

Oh, come on. He can't be THAT much of a sore loser.

Astrid looked around, desperately trying to find the source of the call. That was when she looked down.

:-:-|-:-:-(-)-:-:-|-:-:

Hiccup was on the ground, his hair messed up, his clothes torn, and his right arm hanging at an odd angle. His breathing was ragged, and sometimes twitched in agony, even in unconsciousness. All of the people in the stands grew quiet, and eventually started crying out, for their chief was hurt. Astrid called for help, when Snotlout, Fishlegs and Valka rushed over to her, and took him to Gothi's. Toothless was not hurt, but still very distressed about what happened. Astrid tried to keep up with the troop carrying her beloved, but broke down in tears halfway to the healer's hut. Thankfully, both dragons were there to comfort her.

"Hi, guys" she said, trying not to sob too loudly. "This was my fault."

Toothless nudged her and clicked in his language, that all of the riders came to understand.

 _"This was not your fault. It was an accident._ " He said.

The girl petted both dragons and took them both to Gothi's hut.

:-:-|-:-:-(-)-:-:-|-:-:

Hiccup didn't remember much, a few flashes here and there, and faces. He heard the singing of Valkyries, prepared to take him to his father if he should give up on life. But he wasn't. He would only give up if he had no other choice. Sure, he wanted to be with his dad and grandfather, but he would someday meet them no matter what. Astrid, Mom, Snotlout, Fishlegs, the twins, and the entire tribe were counting on him. They needed him. Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third. They needed him to live.

:-:-|-:-:-(-)-:-:-|-:-:

Astrid couldn't help but think this was her fault. Her swooping in startled Toothless, and that, in turn, caused Hiccup to fall to the ground. She hadn't seen the series of events happen, but she knew her Hiccup fell from at least thirty feet. Her fault. This was _her_ fault.


End file.
